I called GM Customer Service today to report slipping and trouble with my vehicle's transmission shifting. I had spoken with the service department at my dealer earlier this morning and they gave me little hope, saying that my original 3-year, 36,000 mile warranty had expired. Your customer service representative checked at my request and said that there were no recalls or pending class action suits regarding this issue -- there should be. My nephew has this exact vehicle and he had to have his transmission replaced at less than 40,000 miles.

A quick internet search shows that this problem is not uncommon at all. Some have even had the transmission replaced under GM's "Goodwill Policy". I was not offered any "goodwill". In fact, I believe your new 5-year, 100,000 mile warranty on newer vehicles may be an attempt to rid yourselves of the poor reliability image that is building among consumers. It may even work on those who were not deceived by the earlier problems and shorter warranties that were apparently statistically placed just before the expected transmission failures.

No reasonable person would say that 50,000 miles is a reasonable time for a transmission to work properly. Your new warranties prove it. The numerous transmission failures on these vehicles represent a defect that should be recalled. I brought the vehicle in to the dealer and they said they would run a diagnostics check this Friday at the earliest. In the meantime, I will be without a vehicle. Thanks.

I wonder if your statisticians count on the number of people dissuaded from buying your vehicles by customers like me who will go out of their way to protect other innocent buyers from this type of known defect. Or do they just figure that a percentage of lost customers can simply be replaced by fresh dupes and that people like me won't go through the trouble of convincing others? You may frustrate me, but I will not "give up".

I will say this, though: I have owned Chevrolet pickup trucks continuously since 1986 and when I am through with this one, it will probably be my last. This is the case in spite of the fact that I have a GM credit card with $1,500 earnings toward purchase of a new GM vehicle (I will get a new credit card with some other rewards program that I can actually use). I grew up hearing from my father that we should "buy American" and thinking that was also good for our country.

Now, I believe GM has a corporate view that gives no weight to such loyalty and, therefore deserves no loyalty from its customers. What a shortsighted way for a major corporation to behave. Maybe it is partly the reason for your loss of market share and recent discussions of bankruptcy and government bailouts.

I am not writing this as an angry Chevy customer, but as a sad, longtime, loyal customer of Chevrolet who defended Chevrolet in the hunting camp arguments over Ford/Dodge/Chevy. It seems we should have been discussing Nissan and Toyota instead. Until our own country's manufacturers can make a transmission that lasts more than forty or fifty thousand miles, they will continue to lose ground against the more reliable Japanese brands. I know this was long and I did not enjoy writing it any more than you did reading it. I sincerely regret my loss of confidence in your company after a 22-year run with Chevrolet.

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Chevy Silverado Rust Problem

By Pat - 07/21/2012

Rating: 1/51

CALIFORNIA -- 2007 Chevy Silverado 32,000 miles has a rust bubble spot under 3rd brake light with rust colored stain forming. Went to dealer and they said GM won't cover it unless there is a hole in it. They told me to poke a hole in the body and it will be covered. I called GM and got a run around and finally got a basically tough **, you're on your own. Well I'm unloading this piece of crap and taking my business elsewhere. You support American and get the shaft. Wife needs a new car and wanted a Chevy but after this I'll never buy another GM product in my life. I had a 1987 Honda which was parked outside everyday with not one rust problem what so ever.

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Chevy gets it right

By giantbeagle - 02/16/2007

I have a 2007 Chevy Silverado 1LT 2WD extended cab with the 5.3 iron-block V8. I had long ago given up on buying GM products. Bad quality and bad designs. But the new Silverado has changed my mind. Highlights: Quiet ride, comfortable & supportive seats, surprisingly good handling, good looking & well-designed interior with lots of storage. Problems: None so far. Lowlights: Radio speakers do a lousy job with high-end sounds. And (a real nik-pick here) the owner's manual is a bit hard to read, lacking a lot of drawings/pictures, and it comes in a thin, wimpy, plain, ultra-cheap canvas-like pouch.

10,000 mile update.

Only problem so far: Took the truck in for its first oil change in May, was told that there was an oil leak. I was given a free loaner (a new Impala), problem was fixed under warranty, no problems since. The rear cup holder broke; the hinge locked up, and it snapped off when given a tug. I assume this was caused by my 5-year old standing on it. I admitted to breaking it, but it was still replaced free under warranty. Also, a software update was taken care of.

I wasn't wild about the original equipment tires, wanted some with better all-season traction, so I replaced the stock Generals with Bridgestone Dueler Revos. Great improvement in handling and wet & dry traction. The cost was a drop in fuel economy. I had been consistently getting 16.5; now 15.5. Looks like I will be changing jobs, going from largely working at home to having a 120 mile daily commute. This will be a good test of the truck.

5/15/2009 -- I now have 35,000 miles on this truck. I have driven it from PA to MI with 800 lbs in the bed, from MI to FL and back with 500 lbs in the bed, and from MI to MO with a 6 year old in the back seat. I currently have 1000 lbs in the bed, moving equipment from one factory to another. I haven't had a single problem, and have done nothing but change the oil. Highway MPG approaches 19. GM is finally building some good products, but not enough people believe them anymore. It's too bad, because I love this truck.

8/12/2011 -- it's been awhile since I updated this post. My Chevy now has 82,000 miles on it. it's both my work truck and personal vehicle. For the past year I have driven it from Michigan to upstate New York every other week. I have twice taken it from Michigan to Florida loaded with trade show stuff; another trip to the boot heel of Missouri.

The truck has continued to perform flawlessly. Only issues have been two minor leaks, transmission and engine oil, both fixed under warranty. I replaced front brake pads at 62k. Worn out the Bridgestones at about 55k and replaced with Michelins. Other than that I've only changed the oil when the oil life monitor tell me to. Truck still feels tight and rides quiet.

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Rust, Rust, Everywhere there is Rust

By HidingInTheWoods - 06/22/2010

EDMOND, OKLAHOMA -- We purchased a 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500 from Bob Howard Chevrolet in August 2006. Within two months of purchasing the truck, we noticed that the rear bumper began to blister. When we showed the issue to the service department, we were advised to let the paint continue to blister for a while until rust appeared and that the warranty would take care of the rust problem, but not blistered bumper paint. We did exactly that. Now, the warranty does not cover rust on the bumper.

We went to Chevrolet and asked them why they refused to honor the warranty like we were told by the Bob Howard service department. Chevrolet replied saying that the original warranty would cover the problem had the service department addressed the issue when we had blistered paint, but now that the bumper turned to rust, we were out of luck. They could offer us; however, a new bumper for around $600. Now, we see why General Motors went bankrupt. This was our first Chevy and will most certainly be our last.

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Design flaw

By jimmy cullen - 06/22/2010

MILFORD, DELAWARE -- I spent $43,000 for a 2010 extended cab pu. I test drove a crew cab and enjoyed the sunroof option lighting up pass. Area the dealer didn't have one in stock with equipment and color I wanted and settled for extended cab instead. I wasn't aware that the sunroof design was different between two models, The sunroof rattles so bad you need to turn radio up over half volume to block out rattle. Making it impossible to carry on a conversation with anyone. Also bounces up and down upon closing door. It's been back to dealer many times to no avail. Told it is a design flaw. It was an $800 option I wish I never bought.

I asked dealer possibility of permanently sealing close the window to stop rattle and questioned them about any reimbursement for option they said they couldn't do either. This was the second chev. I bought in 3 years the first one had major electrical problems and after 2 years of trying to fix it I gave up after dealer had it 9 of 11 weeks and was unable to repair it. New truck new dealer, same poor quality I will never buy another chev. in my life time. I've been waiting over a month for dealer to come up with something else to try.

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2004 Silverado 2500 HD

By Ole - 01/18/2010

I bought this truck new and because I am in a ride-share program do not accumulate many miles on either of my cars. When this truck was new it required a driver's side seal because it was leaking in water and this was covered. At 16,000 miles my disk player stuck, not the fault of the disk and this was covered. This year, 2010, 26,482 miles, my speedometer went wacko. Covered but when fixed my scroll bar is now messed up. The truck is going back in for service 1/23/2010 to fix the scroll bar which should be covered because it was working when the truck was taken in for the speedometer repair. Whoever heard of a speedometer messing up?

I am 61 years old and owned many cars; never the above problems. When I took my truck in for the speedometer, I was told my rotors were rusted and needed to be replaced, my oil pan was leaking (nothing on my driveway) and my transmission lines were leaking (again, nothing on my driveway). I have not even towed anything with this truck. I will be taking my truck to an independent service center for a second opinion. I think the above is a quality issue and all repairs should be backed by GM. If after the second opinion, the above is true, I will let an independent do the work. No way am I going to reward a dealership for selling me junk.

I thought HD stood for Heavy Duty not crap. They should rename the truck 2500 CRAP. This truck is going to get fixed, if needed, and probably traded. Do you think I should buy another Silverado? HA! My tax dollars were used to save this company; what a short sheet I received.

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The Last Chevy

By jimbo5000 - 01/08/2010

I am so disgusted with my Chevy Truck. The third one I've owned and you can BET this is the last. 1000 dollars to replace all three 02 sensors, another couple hundred on the parking brakes. Seems Chevy can't engineer a simple parking brake cable properly. Maybe if they spent more on hiring qualified engineers instead of pampering their corporate jet fleet, they could build a truck that doesn't require extensive repair bills every 6 months. Not to mention the page after page of recalls that are plaguing GM.

Also, they should include a "leaf blower" to remove the accumulation that drops behind the body panel. If you own one and live near a tree, you know what I'm talking about. More bone-uses for the Execs!

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2005 Chevy Silverado 1500 shortbed

By Roadtoad - 04/10/2005

KENTUCKY -- My Dad just bought an '05 Chevy Silverado P/U with the 4.3 V-6. It has the 5 speed manual transmission and is about as basic a truck as you can buy on a lot these days. The rear end has the 3.23 gear set in it. The tranny makes a light clunk when you shift out to the next gear. This truck doesn't even have 5,000 miles on it yet. It is not the clutch. We can tell that. Its like there is some lash in the gears when you engage the clutch. Not only can you hear it, you can feel it in the shifter. This ain't right.

Dad has since test drove some other trucks with the same tranny and they all do it. And after reading some of the GM reviews on here, it doesn't surprise me. The service department is blaming it on a redesign of the transmission. I blame it on shoddy workmanship. The 4.3 engine in it is not the same one that GM sold years ago. My Mom had an '86 Monte Carlo with basically the same motor in it. And you had to be careful with it. It would break the tires lose without even trying hard.

This 4.3 bogs on small hills that shouldn't even make it breathe hard. Dad just had an exhaust leak fixed on it just behind the catalytic converter. It made the truck quieter, but, we don't know if it helped the power any or not. Dad found it when he was under the truck and saw black soot on the brand new factory exhaust. The service techs at the dealership said they can't put it on a diagnostic machine unless the check engine light is on. Personally, I think they're afraid the computer will tell them that my Dad knows what he's talking about.

He has a 1991 Nissan P/U with well over 100K on it. And it still runs like a new one. He's saying now that he wishes he had just gone on and bought another one instead of this truck. Dad is not hard on a truck but, he does use it for hauling stuff. Its a shame that he has to go through all this crap, thinking he was getting a quality product. I'm starting to think that GM may just stand for "Grave Mistake". Is anyone else out there having these problems with a new GM truck? Especially the Silverado or the Sierra with this motor and /or engine? Please e-mail me and let me know. Thanks